Dinner And Music

I spent Friday evening last week having dinner with a couple of writer friends I had met only in the past year; I even made a new one too, among some others who have no online presence, as far as I can tell. Update: my mistake, another person I met that night does have a website; he's Prof. Lester Demetillo of the U.P. College of Music. Please do check out his website to see where and when he'll be performing. Taking everyone into account, I was in the presence of so much genius that Friday evening.

Despite being the semi-hermit that I am, despite the fact that I rarely venture forth from the comfortable confines of my familiar haunts, or go beyond seeing those safe, friendly, and trustworthy faces I've known since I was a kid--in other words, despite myself--the evening was wonderfully enjoyable.

A get-together of friends, a time when you can let your guard down, be yourself, and be accepted for that with no questions asked, is a surefire recipe for a pleasant time, one of those moments--which include the time I spend with my family--that let you know life can be good. What made the evening extra fun was the fact that almost all those who were at dinner that evening were gifted with healthy doses of musical talent (I say "almost" because I was the exception there). One writer friend brought her treasured, decades-old guitar, another was provided by the restaurant owner, and once dessert was served I was treated to something I did not expect and had not experienced since my college days almost twenty years ago: a night of live, personable, well-played and well-sung music with nothing else but voice and instrument. Even my other writer-friend picked up the guitar and sang despite years of rust (or so he claimed), while the new one I made, well, see and hear for yourselves. It felt like everyone could play, everyone could sing. As was described by another friend, jadedfolk, in the comments of this post (with regard to something his guitar teacher had told him), everyone around me that night seemed to have already "Gotten it, because they've gone past the technicalities and have risen to an artistic level."

There was enough music and laughter to attract the attention of the other restaurant patrons, but I don't think they minded at all (at least, I hope they didn't). As one of us remarked, "Kulang nalang, beer", but the restaurant didn't serve any alcohol, so we were left to get drunk on the music. Which was more than fine.

Perhaps it's serendipity working here again. I think I was ready for this. I've been a Tuck and Patti fan for years. I've also been recently enjoying the music of Co-E-Sion on Youtube; they're a Pinoy duo based in Australia who, like Tuck and Patti, rely on guitar and voice. I've embedded one of their songs from Youtube at the end of this post just so you get an idea of the song and sound I experienced that Friday evening (though the songs that were sung at the restaurant were some decades older than the one in the video).

Hey guys, I hope you don't mind my blogging about this. Wala naman akong linagay na photos, as one of you requested. Thanks very much for inviting me to dinner, and for a great night. I retract though my tongue-in-cheek promise to "rap" the next time we get-together. Also, have a safe trip back, ma'am!